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The Heidelberg website glossary explains, in alphabetical order, a multitude of terms relevant to printing, as well as some terms used in Heidelberg's product catalogue.

Simply click on the letter of your choice to access the information you need.

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Hairline

The thinnest line that can be produced.

Half duplex

The transmission of data between two terminals in only one direction at any given time. (Transmission may be in both directions but not at the same time.)

Halftone

Term used to designate a contone image which has been prepared for printing using screening technology. This is a pure black/white or full-tone original which uses screening to simulate contones. Georg Meisenbach (1841-1912) is considered the inventor of halftone technology.

Halftone color synthesis

Refers to the way in which a color impression is generated when printing screened color images. The individual screen dots – in the CMYK basic colors when using four-color printing – are printed either next to or on top of each other. Both additive and subtractive color synthesis is possible. Even unprinted portions of an image, which are generally white, contribute to the color impression.

Halftone wedge

A control patch on the Ugra/FOGRA digital plate wedge, required for the determination of the printing characteristics of a printing press. It consists of (nine) patches increasing in most cases in increments of 10 percent from an area coverage of 0 to 100 percent (solid patch) for the densitometric control of tone values and dot gain during printing.

Handfolding

Sheet folding performed by hand typically using a folder – a flat, smooth piece of plastic about 15 centimeters long. Only limited edition books are still folded by hand.

Hard proof

The processes for simulating or checking printed results leading up to production of a hardcopy. Depending on the characteristics to be checked, a distinction can be made between blueprint, imposition proof (layout proof), color proof, screen proof and press proof (or machine proof).

Harmonica fold

See "zig-zag fold".

Header

Key data for a data set or file that enables user software to interpret and process data correctly. In relation to a file, the header provides such information as number of pages, date and time and the size of the file. For the processor, the header is particularly important in relation to programs, as it contains information that specifies the programs in the RAM.

Heat-set ink

A printing ink dried after the printing process by blowing air between 120 and 150º Celsius onto it. Heat-set inks are used in rotary offset printing.

Helio engraving (photo engraving)

Photochemical process for creating gravure plates introduced by the Czech painter and graphic artist Karel Václav Klíc in 1878. Helio engraving was particularly popular between 1890 and 1910 for creating monochrome illustrations in high-quality books.

Hermann, Caspar (1871-1934)

A pioneer in offset printing. After Ira Washington Rubel came out with the first offset printing press in 1904, Hermann converted book printing rotary presses into offset printing presses, beginning with the one he produced for the Harris Automation Press Company in Niles, Ohio. The first German offset printing presses were manufactured in the same manner starting in 1907. Hermann also designed the world’s first rotary offset printing press, which was patented in Germany the same year, and the so-called satellite printing system in 1922.

High-gloss paper

Paper that is cast-coated on one side and not calendered.

Highlights

The brightest areas of an image.

HKS inks

A hybrid system for inks which comprises 84 different color tones. It is jointly offered by three ink manufacturers: Horstmann-Steinberg, Kast + Ehinger and H. Schminke & Co. It is structured on nine basic colors plus black and white. Ink series are available for sheetfed offset on coated and uncoated papers, newsprint and continuous paper.

Hologram

A three-dimensional image created by the interference image which results from interaction between light reflected from the object to be imaged with a reference beam from the light source. This method requires extremely coherent light (synchronously oscillating light), such as that generated by a laser.

Host

A computer that functions as the start and end point for data transfer, and thought of as the place where a Web site resides. An Internet host has a unique IP address and a unique domain or host name. A host can also refer to a Web hosting company.

House typeface

The typeface employed by a company for most or all of its communications. Some publishing houses also use a standard typeface for their publications in order to make these products more identifiable.

HPGL (Hewlett-Packard Graphic Language)

A command language for driving plotters developed by the American company Hewlett-Packard.

HSB

A color model that describes colors in the same way as the human eye perceives them, using hue, saturation (or chroma) and brightness (or luminance). The hue is defined by its position in a color circle and is specified by an angle lying between 0 and 360 degrees. The saturation corresponds to the amount of gray in the color mixture and has a value between 0 percent for gray and 100 percent for pure color. The values for brightness also range from 0 percent for black and 100 percent for white.

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)

A page description language used for formatting documents for the Internet. HTML makes it possible to create links between different Web sites and to present multimedia material. With the help of a web browser, HTML documents can be read by any computer with a standard operating system. A distinctive feature of these pages is that they do not have a fixed typography. The reader determines the typeface and font size, with which they will appear.

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)

A data request protocol used for the Internet and based on the TCP/IP network protocol, HTTP is used to organize communication between an Internet server and the user’s browser. HTTP sets up a new connection to the server every time a browser requests data.

Hue

A term used in the context of a color space to identity the exact shade of a piece of paper. Not to be confused with whiteness, which is a different property of paper.

HWC, LWC, MFC, MWC, SC, ULWC

Standard international acronyms for weights and grades of papers used in rotary offset and letterpress printing. Coated stock can be identified HWC (heavy-weight coated), MWC (medium-weight coated), LWC (lightweight coated), or ULWC (ultra-lightweight coated). All are wood pulp-based, but available in many varieties. MFC (machine-finished coated) paper is made primarily from ground wood pulp, has a grammage of 48 to 80 gsm, and may be high volume. LWC paper is particularly lightweight stock for use on rotary offset machines. SC (supercalendered) paper is an uncoated wood pulp stock based mainly on ground wood and recycled content. It features an additional finish applied by a separate supercalender.

Hyperlink

A text or graphic on a Web site which is linked to another page.

Hypertext

A function used to connect Internet documents by means of links, which can be added to any object of a document.

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